So its been my 10th year and there still seems to be alot of people that have trouble taking care of themselves on the playa. So I figured having a thread of playa related ailments would be nice.

So who has the cure????

Playa foot
Playa lung
Playa ear
Playa Cuni and so on!

As far as Im concerned I know vinegar for the feet + lotion is wonderful.
Playa Lung, Well, You need to wear a mask during the event of course.
Playa ear im still stuck on what helps that besides time.
Cuni, well, I dont have a cuni so thats up to the cuni baring citizens.

Just remember, drink water before you get thirsty. I saw alot of vets getting dehydrated and not eating. Shame! :oops:

Playa foot - wear socks at all times except to wash and lotion them once every day or two. After you get home go barefoot and apply lotion regularly, they'll get better. Use some sort of disinfectant on any deep cracks and maybe cover those with a bandage.

Playa lung - bring a COMFORTABLE, CONVENIENT dust filter of some sort. I use the sleeve off an old t-shirt. Very comfortable and colorful. Wet it down for double-duty as a coolant and dust filter. Bandanas work as well. The big fancy ones are cool if you're going to be doing serious work out there, but for most people how often are you really going to lug that thing around? Better to have 50% protection that you'll use in even the slightest amount of dust than 90% protection that won't be used much at all.

My only problems this year after 3 weeks were sandpaper hands and lips. Both healed naturally over the next 4 days or so after I got home.

I do the alcohol hand sanitizer and then wet naps and then lotion every night and I've never had playa foot. I use the same method on my hands but I do it more often as I am a nail-biter and my cuticles get all sorts of fucked up on the playa.

Moleskins are great for blisters which I encounter more often than playa foot. I bring a big ass roll of the stuff.

A wetnap booger-pick a couple of times a day takes care of the dried out nostrils. Some people say to put vaseline on the inside of your nose but I think that would just catch more dust.

Use a respirator. I made the mistake of not wearing my respirator and I could hardly talk by Wednesday. Next year I will be sure to keep it more handy.

Any external nether region irritation can be soothed with baby butt rash cream, Desitin or A&D. It's also VERY helpful for sunburn (on any part of the body), far moreso than aloe. This advice came straight from a doc.

Sensitive women can just pre-emptively use small amounts of the normal 'muffin' cream for internal problems. Don't use too many baby wipes and make sure you use them before you go in case you are allergic. I cheaped out on generic and couldn't use them a lot, too perfume-y, and they shredded when you tried to use them to bathe all over.

Unscented baby wipes, can also be used with melted ice water and a dash of vinegar for bathing. I like the smell of pickles. And for lady bits, clean water with a hint of vinegar in a garden mister/sprayer. You may need a friend for this. Pat dry.

Small clean hand towels are extraordinarily useful, we have a lot from Japan, but they're getting old and scruffy. These are the long skinny type, not found in the US.

What did not work: Oil of Olay face wipes. Stung my skin. I can use them at home, but not on the playa.

ok, this is the best. prevent playa foot...take the cooler water out of your cooler and put it in a big bucket or tub. add some vinegar to it. take off your socks and shoes, and put your feet in there. beware of brain freeze! best done in heat of day...repeat as needed, usually at least once a day. if you can get someone to mist you and bring you cut up fruit while you're doing it then you is living large :) fun to share.

dry nasals - there is this stuff called Ayr and it is an aloe and saline gel. you put it up your nose. I know, it sounds gross, but it is the best ever. ever ever. try it...you will like it. nasal rinses are good, but this is better.

feel like you got baby wipe and sunscreen all over your face, and need to start over? use a mister or spray bottle to wet your face down good (very nice first thing in the morning), and wipe it with a towel. good stuff.

now here is a question for you: by the end of the event, last day or so, a weird thing happens around my eyes. there is this area that is inside the goggles, under and around my eyes. it gets all wet and sweaty and soft, all the sunscreen goes away I guess, and then it gets exposed to the air and wind when I switch to sunglasses later. yikes! alligator face. what to do?

To those who experience headaches on the playa. Here are Cap'n Mikey's proven headache cures. First as always, hydrate. As a veteran burner suggests, start slammin' water as you pass Reno(for those of us going east). Never go anywhere without an ample supply of agua. If you don't have one already, get an "easily" refillable back bladder (don't like product endorsements unless they reciprocate).This year I added electrolytes twice a day. Be careful though, I think twice is too much, stabbing muscle cramps will ensue if you over do it. Second, a simple saline nasal rinse once a day keeps the sinuses moist and playa-less. If you partake in those ever present libations, hydrate more and use a liquid B complex shot before the evenings festivities. If you can acquire some dark air conditioned hole for a few hours, that goes a long way to recharging the batteries and getting rid of the playa head.

I do not think the value of vinegar can be overstated. That stuff is like magic! Add some to a spray bottle of water and spritz; then baby wipes and lotion.. then socks if it is feet you are dealing with.

For those inclined to blisters... put some good duct tape where you would get a blister before you go out. Preventative (Iused this method when doing long charity walks).

This year we bought one of those garden insecticide sprayers and used it for showering each other. Also for washing hair. We had the person lay down on a cot with head hanging over. While two of us washed hair, a third person massaged the feet. It was great fun, and we had hopeful parties lining up for their turn!

The sprayer used less than a gallon of water to effectively clean a whole body, and the water was warm if it had been sitting in the sun. Plus it helps to have a buddy to hold the sprayer, so a lot of laughing and fun goes on.

I love all the hints people leave here on ePlaya. Got the sprayer after Phil mentioned it; got my Springbar tent on another recommendation; bought glow in the dark paint and recycled soda bottle rugs after hearing them discussed here...

Ok, this isn't really a cure to any ailment, and it has been stated before: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Drink unholy amounts of water! Apparently I am not succeptible to the playa dust-related ailments, but I have to believe that my level of hydration helped keep my skin/throat from becoming dried out and irratated. I am going to try my best to avoid a product endorsement, but that handy backpack water bladder named after a desert-dwelling, one or two humped quadraped mammal was an absolute lifesaver. During the day I would fill my half gallon bladder as well as carry a water bottle--you never know where your journey will take you, or how long you will be gone. At night the bladder was sufficient.

Apart from hydration, I am really a die-hard supporter of bandanas. Cowbows have been using them for hundreds of years, right? For me, their value lies in their comfort and versitility. Wet one down, tie it around your neck, or on your head--I wear them in the kitchen all the time and they keep me cool. If the dust picks up, pull it over your face and you are golden.

The bladder packs never worked for me. I have two 27 ounce klean kanteenswhich I filled with water and *cough, cough* crystal sleezer *cough* flavoring and I was able to keep hydrated, only used the nasal saline twice in 9 days, and didn't get much of that dried out eyeball feeling. And none of that nasty plastic traces getting into my system. And in 2005, I took 6 bags of saline, so it's a huge improvement. So, if you find that the common solution just isn't for you, keep experimenting.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

Depends on how you prepare it. If you anneal it, the add some soy sauce, tomato slices, peppers, anchovies, bacon, and cheese, they taste about the same. The 316L ( L for Laxative) can cure constipation.

I'm definately going to try the duck tape one for blisters, but anyone else know a good remedy. I don't go around shoeless, cus i love my feet, but after a whole day of parusing the playa, my feet hurt so bad that I can't party at night. So I'm looking for blister remedys.